hobnob

American  

[hob-nob] / ˈhɒbˌnɒb /

verb (used without object)

• hobnobs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hobnobbed,
  past participle,  past
• hobnobbing
  present participle

1. to associate on very friendly terms (usually followed bywith ).

   She often hobnobs with royalty.

2. Archaic. to drink together.

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noun

1. a friendly, informal chat.

hobnob British  

/ ˈhɒbˌnɒb /

verb

1. to socialize or talk informally

2. obsolete to drink (with)

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• hobnobbing
  present
• hobnobbed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hobnob
  simple
• hobnobs
  simple
• have hobnobbed
  perfect
• has hobnobbed
  perfect
• am hobnobbing
  progressive
• are hobnobbing
  progressive
• is hobnobbing
  progressive
• have been hobnobbing
  perfect progressive
• has been hobnobbing
  perfect progressive

Past

• hobnobbed
  simple
• had hobnobbed
  perfect
• was hobnobbing
  progressive
• were hobnobbing
  progressive
• had been hobnobbing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hobnob
  simple
• will have hobnobbed
  perfect
• will be hobnobbing
  progressive
• will have been hobnobbing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of hobnob

First recorded in 1825–30 in the sense “hit or miss; at random”; from the phrase hab or nab literally, “have or have not,” from Middle English habbe or nabbe, Old English habban “to have” + nabbn “not to have” (from ne “not” + habban “to have”)

Explanation

To hobnob is to spend time or hang out with someone, especially at a social event. When you're invited to a fancy benefit party at a museum, you might get to hobnob with socialites and minor celebrities. When you hobnob, you mingle or pal around with fancy folks. People who work in book publishing occasionally get to hobnob with writers, and if you get a job on a movie set, you may have a chance to hobnob with movie stars. Hobnob first meant "to drink to one another," or "to toast each other." In Britain, a HobNob is also a popular cookie or biscuit brand.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hobnob hobnobs hobnobbed hobnobbing

Western investors keen to make a buck in Russia's chaotic and fast-growing economy would gather to strike deals and hobnob with the Russian elite in the early years of Putin's rule.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Sure enough, part of Snoop’s social media mission took him on the U.S. basketball team’s bus to hobnob with Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and other court superstars.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2024

So they have jumped at the chance to glad-hand voters, kiss babies, and hobnob with activists at backyard barbecues and meetups at the chain of Pizza Ranch restaurants that have become an Iowa campaign staple.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 10, 2023

“It becomes very troubling when you have a town of celebrities that have access to the police — when they have a dual role where they provide security and they hobnob with one another.”

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2022

No matter how much we hobnob, there’s an air of artificiality in this reimagined best-friendship.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

At the Katseye concert, Janick hobnobs with folks from Netflix and from Margot Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap — the flywheel in action for a group that has yet to drop a debut LP.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

Like his father, he hobnobs with prime ministers and fellow titans of industry, but doesn’t love the limelight.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2022

But Paros himself is an unusual mix: an entrepreneur-turned-amateur-scientist, who now hobnobs with many of the region's leading geophysicists.

From Nature ● Jun. 20, 2017

He hobnobs with Bill Gates, power-struts at Davos, and is a case study for Harvard Business School students.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 9, 2017

Aaron's busy, I expect, typing letters to all the lords and ladies your Mr. Maraton hobnobs with.

From A People's Man by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim

Pulte had a significant personal relationship with Coe, who hobnobbed with presidents of both parties and leaders of nations around the world.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026

He hobnobbed in New York City with Eric Trump and Mehta and snapped a photograph at a conference on U.S.-India relations in Washington with the second lady, Usha Vance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

We had to do something about his left ring finger because I wasn’t going to walk around like branded cattle while he hobnobbed about as an ostensible bachelor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2024

During closing arguments earlier this week, Crown prosecutors and Nygard's defence team painted dramatically different pictures of the man who once hobnobbed with celebrities and stood at the helm of a lucrative global apparel empire.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2023

We hobnobbed backstage with Lena Horne and Ricardo Montalban at their Broadway play, Jamaica.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

Awards season is around the corner, with opponents ready to duke it out in the ring of swanky luncheons and Hollywood hobnobbing.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

He wound up mostly taking pictures of generals hobnobbing in Germany.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Whose “broke and broken” father neglected his family while hobnobbing with wealthy San Francisco families, including the heirs of the Getty oil fortune.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026

At the time, Epstein was a money manager and jet-setting financier who, with his girlfriend Maxwell, was hobnobbing with the world's wealthiest from Buckingham Palace to Palm Beach and collecting powerful friends along the way.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026

Hugh's family was hobnobbing with chiefs and sultans while I ate hush puppies at the Sanitary Fish Market in Morehead City, a beach towel wrapped like a hijab around my head.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris